REAL MADRID TRANSFER VAN DER VAART TO TOTTENHAM

REAL MADRID has come to an agreement with English Club TOTTENHAM for the transfer of midfielder RAFAEL VAN DER VAART. The operation is speculated to be around 11M€However there could be a problem with the shutting of the English transfer market period. Both Clubs insist that the agreement was finalized before zero hour - shutting time. The paper work on the otherhand may have arrive late & here

ATLETICO DE MADRID TRANSFERS MIDFIELDER JURADO TO SCHALKE 04

Hi guys. Was invited yesterday to watch Atletico de Madrid & Sporting de Gijon at the Vicente Calderon stadium & had a great time watching Atletico win 4-0. I also watched Atletico player JURADO play his last game with Atletico, as it is official that he has been transferred to SCHALKE 04The German Club pays 13M€ & offers the player 4 seasons with a 4.5M€ salary per year. An offer dificult to

SPANISH FOOTBALL | SOCCER - SPANISH LEAGUE - LA LIGA 2010 - 2011 | SUNDAY ROUND 1 RESULTS

More SPANISH FOOTBALL with the scheduled Sunday games of Round 1º of the SPANISH LEAGUE - LA LIGA - in action with 6 matches. Note that tomorrow Atletico de Madrid & Sporting Gijon will play the last scheduled match of Round 1º at 22.00. Sp time.FC BARCELONA travelled to RACING DE SANTANDER & basically continued were they left things last season as Spanish Champions winning very comfortably 0-3.

SPANISH FOOTBALL | SOCCER - SPANISH LEAGUE - LA LIGA 2010 - 2011 | SATURDAY ROUND 1 RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL officially kicked off tonight with three matches of the SPANISH LEAGUE - LA LIGA - season 2010 - 2011. Many of us were going through Football "cold turkey" & welcome this start to ease the nerves. Three matches that were not disappointing & sets it further up nicely for the remaining ROUND 1 games tomorrow & Monday.Newly promoted HERCULES de Alicante hosted ATHLETIC DE BILBAO in

AC MILAN MAKES OFFICIAL THE SIGNING - TRANSFER OF ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC FROM FC BARCELONA

FC BARCELONA has transferred forward ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC to AC MILAN after 5 hours of intense negotiations this afternoon with all parties involved. A year ago Barça paid Inter Milan 45M€ + Samuel Eto´o (= 75M€) to sell him tonight for 24M€. Surreal turn of events in 24 hours as yesterday the price was 40M€, but there is more to this than first meets the eyes. In the future we may really know what

UEFA SUPER CUP 2010 | ATLETICO DE MADRID TEAM PHOTO

Managed to find this image of the ATLETICO DE MADRID TEAM PHOTO season 2010 - 2011, or better said, the UEFA Super Cup 2010 starting line-up team photo against Inter Milan & that won the trophy 0-2.

FC BARCELONA AC MILAN RETURN TO LOAN OPTION ( WITH TWIST) FOR IBRAHIMOVIC

The ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC situation with FC BARCELONA & negotiations with AC MILAN continue with new developments according the Barcelona based Sports papers. Apparently all sides have returned to the original formula of a LOAN, but with a twist.The idea now is that Barça LOAN Ibrahimovic to AC Milan this year with an obligatory clause that forces Milan to buy the player at the end of the season.

2010 UEFA SUPER CUP | INTER MILAN 0 ATLETICO DE MADRID 2

SPANISH FOOTBALL has another title via ATLETICO DE MADRID who defeated the current Champions League Champions INTER MILAN 0 - 2 to take the 2010 UEFA SUPER CUP. Its the first time ever that the Spanish Club wins this trophy & in the process stops Inter in achieving the possibility of equaling the FC Barcelona record breaking 6 titles in one single season.It was a brilliant & complete match from

EUROPA LEAGUE 2010 - 2011 GROUP DRAW | ATLETICO DE MADRID SEVILLA FC IN TOUGH GROUPS

GROUP A: Juventus, Manchester City, Salzburgo & KKS Lech Poznan.GROUP B: ATLETICO DE MADRID, Bayer Leverkusen, Rosenborg & Aris Salonica.GROUP C: Sporting Lisboa, Lille, Levski Sofía & Gante.GROUP D: VILLARREAL, Brujas, Dynamo Zagreb & PAOK.GROUP E: AZ Alkmaar, Dynamo Kiev, BATE Borisov & FC Sheriff.GROUP F: CSKA Moscow, Palermo, Sparta Praga & Lausanne-Sport,GROUP G: Zenit St Petersburg,

FC BARCELONA LIVERPOOL FC COME TO AN AGREEMENT TO TRANSFER JAVIER MASCHERANO

FC BARCELONA & LIVERPOOL FC have come to an initial agreement for the transfer of midfielder JAVIER MASCHERANO. The English Club has "given" official permission for Barça to talk with their player so they can shut an agreement. It is expected that this part will have very little problems & that Javier Mascherano will fly to Barcelona this weekend to pass the medical exams & sign.The deal is

FC BARCELONA 2010 | AC MILAN WILLING TO PAY 40M€ FOR IBRAHIMOVIC?

The news comes out of Italy, from a Silvio Berlusconi owned “Mediaset” website, which informs that what was originally a LOAN option negotiation yesterday for FC BARCELONA player ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC has now become a BUY option with a price of 40M€. Things changed today as negotiations continued between AC MILAN & FC BARCELONA to find a way to make a Ibrahimovic transfer operation

EUROPA LEAGUE 2010 PRELIMANARY GAMES | VILLAREAL GETAFE GO THROUGH TO QUALIFY

Spanish Football Teams VILLAREAL & GETAFE join Atletico de Madrid & Sevilla FC in the draw tomorrow for the 2010 - 2011 EUROPA LEAGUE Group match ups. VILLAREAL went into their 2ºleg match with a 5 goal advantage with a B - side which managed to win 1-2 DNEPR MOGILEV. The home team scored first via YURCHENKO, but Villareal cancelled any "hopes" of a comeback with two goals from NILMAR &

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2010 - 2011 GROUP DRAW | REAL MADRID TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

The 2010 - 2011 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Group draw has been celebrated in Monaco with the 3 Spanish representatives placed in their respective groups along with their respective opponents. Current Spanish Champions FC Barcelona will be happy with their Group D outcome which is relatively more easier than the Groups of Valencia CF & Real Madrid CF.In fact, Real Madrid got the short end of the stick being

SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM | LIST OF 21 PLAYERS ANNOUNCED FOR LIECHTENSTEIN - ARGENTINA

Spanish National Football Team Selector & Coach Vicente del Bosque has announced the list of 21 Spanish Players to make up the Spanish Team squad that will play Liechtenstein in the Euro 2012 Group qualifier the 3rd of September, & later Argentina the 7th of September in a Friendly International match in Buenos Aires.The observations are that Raul Albiol (Real Madrid) is out due to his injury,

JOAN GAMPER TROPHY 2010 | FC BARCELONA 1 (3) DEFEATS AC MILAN 1 (1)

FC BARCELONA has defeated AC MILAN 3-1 on penalties AFTER the match finished in a 1-1 draw, to take the "JOAN GAMPER TROPHY" which traditionally showcases to all the Barça members the new season squad.FC Barcelona took the opportunity to thank its appreciated ex-player & star RONALDINHO who returned to the ground, City & Club that made him the World Nº1 & gave him so many titles, as he did to

SPANISH FOOTBALL | 10 YOUNG PROMISES TO WATCH THIS 2010 - 2011 SEASON

SPANISH FOOTBALL magazine "Don Balon" has written an interesting article were they advise their readers to keep a close eye out for 10 promising young players they believe could make a "jump" this new season 2010 - 2011 in the SPANISH LEAGUE.Here are their names:CALE (Sevilla FC) - Central DefenderJ MONTERO (Villareal) - Forward from EcuadorTHIAGO (FC Barcelona) - MidfielderURRETA (Deportivo) -

REAL MADRID | "OPERATION EXIT" 2010

According to Spanish Sports daily “AS”, REAL MADRID is negotiating with LIVERPOOL FC the possible transfer of MAHAMADOU DIARRA, while Italian Club JUVENTUS has entered the picture in talks for Dutch player RAFAEL VAN DER VAART.In reference to the last name, Juventus offers 14M€ while Real Madrid wishes 16M€, plus to complicate things, Coach Mourinho is hesitant to let go Van Der Vaart because he

REAL MADRID TEAM PHOTO | SEASON 2010 - 2011

As promised, managed to find a better REAL MADRID TEAM PHOTO for season 2010-2011. This is the starting line-up against Peñerol yesterday & could be the starting line-up for the start of the SPANISH FOOTBALL season - LA LIGA. Top (L to R): Casillas, Ramos, Khedira, Alonso, Carvalho, RonaldoBottom (L to R): Marcelo, Canales, Higuain, Lass Diarra, Ozil.

REAL MADRID CF 2010 - 2011 TEAM PHOTO

Not many REAL MADRID 2010-2011 TEAM PHOTOS circulating at this moment, so I managed to find this one taken tonight ater winning 2-0 the "Santiago Bernabeu Trophy" against Uruguayan Club Peñarol.

This should ease the demands of the REAL MADRID fans & I will be alert if any "proper" Team photos pop up in the near future of Real Madrid & other teams. Cheers!

FRIENDLY GAME 2010 | REAL MADRID 2 PEÑAROL 0 | DI MARIA GOAL VIDEO

REAL MADRID played its annual presentation "Friendly game" in front of its home fans in the "Santiago Bernabeu Trophy" with Uruguayian guests PEÑAROL. The final result was a 2-0 win for the home team which was deceiving as it gave more doubts than confidence with just under 5 days left to the start of the new 2010-2011 LIGA season.The 1ºst half line up was:Casillas; Lass, Sergio Ramos, Carvalho,

PRELIMINARY CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2010 | SEVILLA FC 3 SPORTING BRAGA 4 | BRAGA KNOCKS OUT SEVILLA FC 3-5 AGG

Big surprise tonight at Sevilla with the home team being knocked out of the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE competition for season 2010 -2011 by Portuguese Club BRAGA. The final score was 3-4 with Braga winning with a 3-5 aggregate tally.While SEVILLA FC go into the EUROPA LEAGUE competitition as a consolation the blow has been heavy especially in the financial pocket area as this loss supposes that 20% of the

FC BARCELONA 2010 | MASCHERANO CLOSER IBRAHIMOVIC UP IN THE AIR

The key message is that LIVERPOOL FC Argentine midfielder JAVIER MASCHERANO will not play in tonight’s Premier League game against Manchester City, instead of the official Club announcement that Liverpool has rejected the initial offer from FC BARCELONA. The offer is said to be 15M€ + variables + player Hleb which is estimated to be around 20M€ +/-, an offer that Liverpool has rejected “for the

SEVILLA FC TRANSFERS FRENCH DEFENDER SQUILLACI TO ARSENAL FC

SEVILLA FC & ARSENAL FC have come to an agreement for the former to transfer to the latter 30 year old French International defender SQUILLACI. The Frenchmen flew yesterday to London to undergo the medical examinations before signing for the “Gunners”. The transfer price has not been given but speculations in the Spanish press comment that it could be between 6.5 – 7M€, amount that Sevilla paid

FRIENDLY GAME 2010 | HERCULES 1 REAL MADRID 3

REAL MADRID defeated newly ascended Club HERCULES of Alicante 1-3 in a friendly game that served to celebrate the home teams welcome back to the Spanish League & newly renovated Football ground to introduce the season 2010-2011 squad to their home fans.Real Madrid travelled without Casillas, Ramos, Xabi Alonso & Cristiano Ronaldo which gave more time to the younger players & Ozil who debuted in

SPANISH FOOTBALL HISTORY | FC BARCELONA CLOSES IN ON REAL MADRID IN OVERALL TITLES

bSpanish Sports daily “Marca” makes an interesting observation today in its online edition; that FC BARECLONA is close to overtaking REAL MADRID in overall historical titles. With yesterdays Spanish Super Cup title FC Barcelona has 70 historical total titles as compared with 72 that belong to Real Madrid.Here below is a very good descriptive diagram taken from the mentioned source that depicts

SPANISH FOOTBALL | TRANSFERS SIGNINGS SEASON 2010 - 2011

Spanish Football Sports Blog thought that its global readers may be interested to see how all the SPANISH LEAGUE - LA LIGA - Clubs have reinforced their teams with new signings for season 2010 - 2011Below is a list of SPANISH FOOTBALL Clubs & their new signings to date. Take note that there is still time for new transfers & incorporations, apart from the possibilities that some players listed

2010 SPANISH SUPER CUP RESULT | FC BARCELONA 4 SEVILLA FC 0 ( 5 - 3 AGG)

FC BARCELONA put in a magnificent performance tonight to turn around the 1º leg 1- 3 deficit result & win the 2 ºleg match against SEVILLA FC 4-0 to take another title, the 2010 SPANISH SUPER CUP, with a 5-3 aggregate total. In fact, I ask myself, why did Sevilla bother turning up at all, as they clearly had their minds in next Tuesdays "do or die" Champions League 2º leg qualifier against Braga

REAL MADRID FC BARCELONA 2010/2011 LIGA MATCH SCHEDULE

This post specifically replies to the many requests via emails that Spanish Football Sports Blog has been receiving in the past days from readers solicitating the REAL MADRID & FC BARCELONA "LIGA" season 2010 - 2011 match schedule / calendar. Below are the full 38 Rounds match schedules for both teams. Just a couple of points:They´re in Spanish, but easy to figure out without any translationThe

SPANISH FOOTBALL EXPORTING PLAYERS MORE THAN EVER

SPANISH FOOTBALL a decade ago was more about importing players. Over time & with the grand success of the 2008 EURO Championship title & the recent FIFA World Cup victory, Spanish Football is now exporting Spanish born players.Spanish paper "ABC" has illustrated this with this interesting diagram which shows the country & which Spanish player/s is/are participating this season in their local

FIFA GOLDEN BALL 2010 | 3 CANDIDATES INIESTA SNEIJDER FORLAN

It is that time of the year when 208 National Team selectors, 208 National Team Captains & 208 World journalists send in their votes for whom they consider deserves to win the 2010 FIFA Golden Ball. As you may already know, France Football with its Golden Ball Award has joined FIFA with its World Player Award to hand in one single trophy.Those in the “know” - specialist media journalists -

ATLETICO DE MADRID | SIMAO SABROSA | TWITTER

Atletico de Madrid Portuguese forward SIMAO SABROSA takes this picture of his team-mates returning from Cadiz this morning. The player placed it in his Twitter account "simao20sabrosa"

EUROPA LEAGUE 2010 PRELIMANARY GAMES | GETAFE 1 APOEL 0 VILLAREAL 5 DNEPR MOGILER 0

Two Spanish Football teams were involved tonight in the 1ºst leg of the preliminary games for the upcoming 2010 - 2011 EUROPA LEAGUE competition. Madrid Club GETAFE managed a slim 1-0 victory over the competitive APOEL NICOSIA team from Cyprus. Getafe midfielder PAREJO (above) managed the only goal & the winner in the 42th min. Entertaining match which saw chances at both ends, but was

REAL MADRID 2010 NEWS | OVERBOOKING | PLAYERS NEED TO LEAVE

With the arrival of German midfielder Ozil, REAL MADRID has “overbooking” in the midfield & with their squad. Currently there are 26 players that make up the list under the instructions of Coach José Mourinho & the Club wishes to lower the figure to 23 players. Obviously this means that three players will be “asked” to find other Clubs before the start of the new season.During yesterday’s media

2010 PRELIMANARY 1ºLEG CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | SPORTING BRAGA 1 SEVILLA FC 0

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2010 - 2011 action tonight with the 1ºleg pre-qualification matches results not good news for SPANISH FOOTBALL & its representative SEVILLA FC who went down 1- 0 to Portuguese Club SPORTING BRAGA. The Spaniards now have the difficult task - but not impossible - of turning the tie around next week when the Portuguese play the 2ºleg in Spain.The Spanish team started strong & hit

FRIENDLY GAME 2010 | STANDARD LIEGE 1 REAL MADRID 1

REAL MADRID played another Friendly pre-season match against Belgium Champions STANDARD LIEGE which finished in a 1-1 draw. The Spanish team went in with a "B -side" version in the 1ºst half that ironically played somewhat better than the theoretical stronger line-up of the 2ºhalf with Ronaldo, Xabi, Khedira, Canales, Di Maria...etc. It was Dutch midfielder RAFAEL VAN DER VAART who put Real ahead

REAL MADRID SIGNS MESUT OZIL FOR 15M€

The German Club WERDER BREMEN has decided to not risk & take the new 15M€ offer from REAL MADRID for its 21 year old midfielder MESUT OZIL. The midfielder will fly into Madrid tomorrow to pass the medical examinations to later sign his speculated 6 year contract with a 5 M€ salary per year.It has come to light that the father of Ozil & the player shut the deal at the home of Real Madrid President

2010 SPANISH SUPER CUP 1º LEG RESULT | SEVILLA FC 3 FC BARCELONA 1

SPANISH FOOTBALL season 2010 - 2011 got started tonight with the 1ºleg of the 2010 SPANISH SUPER CUP between SEVILLA FC - FC BARCELONA which finished in a 3-1 victory for the home side. For the Barça fans overseas the starting line-up with the following players:Miño, Alves, Milito, Sergi Gómez, Abidal; Oriol Romeu, Jonathan dos Santos, Keita; Bojan, Ibrahimovic & Maxwell; may have surprised with

FRIENDLY GAME 2010 | BAYERN MUNICH 0 (2) REAL MADRID 0 (4) | REAL MADRID MAKES BID FOR OZIL

REAL MADRID faced tonight its most serious warm up match to date against BAYERN MUNICH & won finally in the penalty shoot-out 2-4 after the match finished 0-0 & after the regular 90mins. However, the scoreline is totally misleading as Bayern was far the better team & should have won had it not been for the current Best Goalkeeper in the World & Real Madrid player IKER CASILLASCasillas stopped a

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY 2010 | FINAL RESULT MEXICO 1 SPAIN 1 | SPAIN DEFENDS WORLD TITLE

The SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM defeated well its recently won FIFA World Champion crown with a hard fought 1-1 draw against MEXICO in the 200th anniversary of the Mexican Nation-state Friendly International match at the “Azteca Stadium”.Spain went into this game with most of its regular starters coming in straight from holidays, with “jet-lag” & having to overcome altitude obstacles. However,

EUROPEAN U 21 2010 | FINLAND 1 SPAIN 1 | SERIOUS STUMBLE

The Spanish U21 National Team suffered a serious setback this afternoon when they only managed a 1-1 draw away to Finland. The Spanish U-21 Team will now need to win their last 2 remaining games & see whether other teams stumble. The objective was to gain a place in the 2011 European Championships to be held in Denmark, platform that gives access to the London Olympic Games. Group 4 leader

FIFA RANKING | AUGUST 2010 | SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM REMAINS Nº1

FIFA has released today its monthly National Team rankings with little surprises. The SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM who won exactly a month ago the 2010 FIFA World Cup leads the ranking as newly crowned World Champions, a title they will debut with tonight against Mexico in a Friendly International.The table takes in consideration the yearly trayectory of the National Teams & not just the World

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY | MEXICO SPAIN | POSSIBLE SPAIN STARTING 11 LINE UP

The SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM will be back in action tonight in an International Friendly game against Mexixo in the latters "Azteca Stadium". Only two National teams have managed a victory in their first game after being crowned FIFA World Champions (Argentina 1978, Brazil 1994) since 1978. The mayority have debuted with the "World Champion Star" on their shirts with a loss.The match is

SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM 2010 WORLD FIFA CHAMPION TRIBUTE VIDEO

Spanish Football Sports Blog has whipped up this video to pay tribute to the SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM for their FIFA 2010 WORLD CUP win & World Champions title.

REAL MADRID SIGNS CHELSEA DEFENDER RICARDO CARVALHO

The news has spread like wildfire this evening here in Spain, REAL MADRID has come to an agreement with CHELSEA FC to transfer 32 year old defender & Portuguese International RICARDO CARVALHO for 8M€. The operation is believed to be on the verge of officiality as all parties work to shut all the fine details in the coming hours. The offer to the player is a two year contract with another year as

SPAIN DEBUTS TOMORROW WITH "WORLD CHAMPIONS STAR" AGAINST MEXICO IN INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY GAME

The SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM will play its first International Football match tomorrow with the "Star" on their shirt as World Champion. Spain plays Mexico away tomorrow at the famous "Azteca Stadium". However, debuting tomorrow with the long wished & hard fought "World Champions Star" may also turn out to be the Spanish Teams first defeat since winning the World Cup Final against Holland a

REAL MADRID LOOKS AT KUKAKU OR IS FERNANDO LLORENTE THE REAL OBJECTIVE?

A smokescreen? Spanish Sports daily “Marca” at times sells smoke & have published today that REAL MADRID has added on their list of possible signings ANDERLECHT young forward ROMEU LUKAKU. Real Madrid Coach José Mourinho “surprised” some with declarations after the LA Galaxy friendly game that the team needs a third striker to compete with Higuain & Benzema, plus guarantee the maximum levels to

MESUT OZIL CLOSER TO FC BARCELONA ? HIS DECISION? REAL MADRID?

There seems to be a three way Club “battle” to make with the services of WERDER BREMEN & German 21 year old International MESUT OZIL. If last week REAL MADRID was said to be the destination, either for this season or next, it seems that MANCHESTER UNITED has entered the picture along with FC BARCELONA, the latter is now said to have the “leading edge” according to local Spanish media sources &

REAL MADRID | A RECORD 1.022M€ SPENT ON NEW SIGNINGS SINCE THE YEAR 2000

Hi guys back from some days of holidays & glad to be with you again with Spanish Football news & curiosities.An interesting story featured today in Spanish Sports daily “Marca” on REAL MADRID & their spending on new players since 2000. Real Madrid is the Club that most money has “invested” (spent) on new signings since the year 2000 in the whole World of Football. The below diagram illustrates

ATLETICO DE MADRID SIGNS VILLAREAL DEFENDER GODIN

ATLETICO DE MADRID has shut the transfer of Diego Roberto GODIN with VILLAREAL. The Uruguayian International defender signs for the Madrid Club for the next 5 years. The deal is apparently worth between 8 – 10 M€ with a 50-50 deal on players rights after 2 weeks of intense negotiations. Atletico de Madrid continues to reinforce further their defense which was one of its weak areas last season.

REAL MADRID | MAICON CLOSER ?

According to Spanish Sports daily "AS" positions between REAL MADRID & INTER MILAN Brazilian International right-back MAICON may have got closer. Maicon representative Antonio Caliendo met yesterday with Real officials to lower the asked 7M€/year figure by Maicon to 5.5M€. This is a sum that may better Real Madrid´s pre-disposition to consider the signing of the Brazilian defender.The transfer

REAL MADRID | OZIL WILL BE NEW PLAYER FOR 2011-2012

Spanish FootballAccording to Spanish Sports daily “AS” this is the deal between REAL MADRID & German 21 year old International & WERDER BREMEN midfielder MESUT OZIL. The player will stay one more year at his current German Club & finish his contract, this will unable the player to come “free” of transfer payment because as of the 1st of January 2011 the player is free to negotiate with the Club

CARLES PUYOL ANNOUNCES HE WILL CONTINUE 2 MORE YEARS WITH SPANISH NATIONAL TEAM

Spanish Football Sports Blog FC Barcelona & Spanish International defender CARLES PUYOL has announced that he will continue defending the colours of the Spanish National Football Team two more years. This means he will stay available for “call ups” until 2012 when the European Nations Cup takes place & will be celebrated under the dual hosts Poland /Ukraine.Spanish National Selector & Coach

CESC FABREGAS FC BARCELONA | HUMOUR

Some Football humour from Barcelona sports paper "Mundo Deportivo" & its cartoon section "Pelotazos" by Kap. Translated : "...but Cesc is very comfortable here at Arsenal".